The Dark Side of the Moon
by gallaghergirl09
Summary: Everypony knows that the moon goes through cycles: sometimes, a part of it is dark. What if the same were true of Princess Luna, and the percent of the moon which was dark was the percent of Luna that was evil? If so, what sort of havoc would she wreak on the night that the moon is completely dark for the first time since she escaped it?
1. Chapter 1

Princess Celestia had just lowered the sun. As she was walking to her bedroom to sleep, she passed her younger sister, Princess Luna.

"Good night, sister," Princess Celestia smiled as she passed.

"Good night to you as well, Tia," Luna replied as she continued walking to the great balcony to raise the moon. Once outside, she looked down over her kingdom. As always at this time, everypony was in their respective homes, and no one would see the moon rising. It still bothered Luna that they had an entire ceremony dedicated to celebrating the sunrise, but none for the moon, but not nearly as much as it once had. Luna shuddered at the memory.

"I'll never go back _there_ again," She said to herself.

Leaving her thoughts aside, Luna prepared to raise the moon. As she performed the spell, she couldn't help but notice that there was something different about the moon. She looked at it closer, then gasped. She felt a familiar feeling of hatred and jealousy hit her core. She struggled against these feelings, for she knew they were not her own. A terrible chill came over her, and that's the last thing she remembered.

Celestia, hearing a moan from the balcony, left her room to investigate. As she came to the closed door leading to the balcony, she heard a familiar, sinister laugh.

"Luna," Celestia knocked on the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, dear sister," Luna replied. Celestia couldn't help but notice that her sister's voice sounded deeper.

"Are you sure? Your voice sounds funny."

"I think I may just be coming down with a cold- nothing to worry about. Go on back to bed."

"Alright," Celestia said hesitantly, turning back.

Nightmare Moon laughed once she was confident that Celestia was out of earshot.

"Nothing to worry about at all..."


	2. Chapter 2

Celestia found herself in the royal labrynth. Looking to the sky, all she could see was darkness. Behind her, she heard rustling. Startled, she began to run. She knew nothing besides her fear, and the knowledge that she had to keep running.

Celestia sensed the creature gaining up on her. Inadvertantly, she looked back, and stood frozen in terror as it overtook her when she recognized it.

She woke with a start. Startled, she looked around, and sighed, glad that it was only one of her nightmares. Luna, who controlled dreams, gave Celestia these every night, as sort of an alarm clock, so she would wake up when it was time to raise the sun. Even though she had become somewhat accustomed to this, this particular nightmare seemed... different, and more intense.

Looking out her window, Celestia still saw the shiloutte of the moon (apparently it was a new moon night) high in the sky, and the stars still bright. She thought perhaps Luna had just woken her up too early, and looked at the clock. It was almost two hours later than she usually woke up! She got up, and began walking to the room that connected to the balcony. Again, she found the door locked.

"Luna," Celestia knocked. "Why did you wake me up so late? Why haven't you lowered the moon?"

She heard a cackle. "Oh, Celestia," Nightmare Moon jeered, sending a chill down Celestia's back. "I am not lowering the moon. It doesn't need to go anywhere. Why don't you go back to bed, hmmm? Your services aren't needed here."

"Nightmare Moon. I should have known. "

"Even if you had, you wouldn't be able to do anything more than you can now: stand outside and watch my beautiful night, like you always should have done- what everypony should have, and will do now."

"Luna, I know you're in there somewhere. This isn't what you want. Don't make me do anything drastic."

"Don't make me laugh, Celestia. What could you do? Banish me to the MOON again? Oh, but you couldn't do THAT? You couldn't BEAR losing your DEAR SISTER for another thousand years," Nightmare Moon mocked. "Am I right?"

Celestia was at a loss for words. Nightmare Moon knew exactly how to use her feelings against her! Well, that made sense, since she WAS her sister... in a way. Celestia hated to admit it, but she was right. She couldn't banish Nightmare Moon without exiling her sister! What choice did she have, though? This was threatening the harmony in the land, and therefore her subjects!

"Sister," She pleaded. "Please don't do this!"

"Tia," the voice Celestia recognized as Luna's said "I'm so sorry!"

"Luna?"

"Ugh," the voice of Nightmare Moon returned. "Sorry about that. Now, you were saying?"

With tears in her eyes, Celestia ran out of the castle and flew to where she would find the pony who could best advise her in this situation: Ponyville.


	3. Chapter 3

Celestia soon arrived in Ponyville, where many ponies were out and about, confused by it still being night. She walked over to the library, where she met Twilight Sparkle, just walking out.

"Princess Celestia!" She exclaimed, surprised to see her mentor.

"Hello, Twilight."

"I mean no offense, but what are you doing here? Does it have something to do with the fact that it's still night?"

"It has everything to do with that. I need your advice."

"MY advice?"

"Yes. Your knowledge on friendship might be the only thing that can help with this situation."

"What's wrong? Is Princess Luna upset about something?"

"It must be. She's transformed into Nightmare Moon again."

"Oh no! Well, that explains a lot, I guess."

"You've spent as much time as I have with Luna recently, if not more. Can you think of anything she would be upset about?"

"No..." In fact, Luna had seemed perfectly happy the last time Twilight had seen her, a couple days ago, when she was visiting Canterlot...

"Twilight," Luna had said. The two were on the large balcony of the castle, having just raised the moon and stars. "You have no idea how helpful it is to me that you raise the stars now."

"Oh?"

"You would think that because of its size the moon would be harder to raise, but really it's the stars."

"How so?"

"The moon, for the most part, is always at the same place in the sky, and it's only one thing. But there are thousands of stars, and each has its own place, rotating ever so slightly every so often. Placing them requires patience and precision, which is what makes it a most appropriate job for your talents, Twilight . You will do the stars the most justice in their delicate beauty."

"Thank you. I won't let you down." The two princesses of the night smiled, and to Twilight, it seemed to forge some silent bond between them.

"So," Celestia broke Twilight from her reverie. "What could possibly caused this change again, and so suddenly?"

"I have no idea," Twilight said ruefully. She looked up at the sky. "Who says you couldn't raise the sun? I don't see the moon."

"Trust me, there is. I tried raising the sun once I was a certain distance away from Canterlot, but my spell was cancelled by the moon."

"Twilight," Apple Jack walked over, followed by Twilight's other friends. "What the hay is goin' on?"

"Yeah," Rainbiw Dash cut in. "I can't get any flying practice in if I can barely see in front of me."

"And the non nocturnal animals don't know that it's time to wake up," Fluttershy added.

"Everypony, calm down." Twilight said, thinking, Huh- ironic how the former worrier is asking others to calm down. "Something's up with Luna, and she won't lower the moon."

"What moon?" Pinkie asked, craning her neck up to look at the sky.

"Apparently," Celestia said. "It's the time in the lunar cycle where the moon is in shadow. We can't see it, but it's there.

"Oh."

"What can we do? We can't just let Nightmare Moon win!" Twilight said.

"Yeah," Apple Jack agreed. "Without the sun, the apple trees can't grow apples!"

"Why don't we just use the elements if harmony?" Rarity asked.

"At this point, the first time Nightmare Moon appeared," Celestia explained, "When I used the elements, all they could do was banish her. She called me on that earlier. I can't do that again."

"Why not? You did it last time." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"I was young then. We both were. We were stupid, adolescent mares who didn't know better. I didn't think about how much I loved Luna before I banished her. I didn't realise how much I would... miss her." Tears welled in Celestia's eyes. "I couldn't bear another thousand years without her. I just couldn't..."

"You won't have to." Twilight put a hoof on Celestia's shoulders. "We'll find another way to fix this."

"Hey," Pinkie Pie burst out. "Twilight, you're a princess of the night, too, right? So why couldn't YOU lower the moon?"

"Me? I-I-I-"

"She's right." Celestia said encouragingly. "You can lower the moon so I can raise the sun. That way, harmony would at least temporarily be restored, we can give an excuse to everypony else as to why the dawn came late, and focus our efforts on re-reforming Nightmare Moon. Do it, Twilight. At least try."

"Ok..." Twilight closed her eyes, concentrated, and her horn began to glow. The others could see the moon lowering, and let out a cheer, when suddenly a sharp crack was heard, and the moon rose once more. Everypony gasped, and looked to see what had happened. Twilight was on the ground, unconscious, her horn singed.

"TWILIGHT!" They all cried. Then an all too familiar laugh sounded.

"Did you really think that I would be defeated so easily?" Nightmare Moon's voice boomed.

"Twilight, no!" Cried the voice of Luna.

"Ugh. Fools, all of you, even Luna!" Nightmare Moon appeared in front of the group. "The greatest one: little Twilight Sparkle over here." She glanced over to the limp figure of the little alicorn.

"You- you MONSTER!" Rarity yelled.

"Nightmare Moon," Celestia confronted the dark mare. "I knew you had skewed views, but I never thought you would go so low as murder."

"Oh, she'll live, but she'll just be asleep for a while. It won't be a peaceful one, though, mind you."

Celestia glared.

"Consider this a warning, everypony. The night has come. Those who try to stop it are only harming themselves. So, why not just enjoy the scenery? It will be here for a long time." She faded into mist.

The door of the library opened again. Spike came out, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on out here? Can't a dragon get some sl-" he saw his mistress' state. "Twilight! What happened?" He asked the others.

"Nightmare Moon happened," Celestia answered. "Unfortunately, she did this to poor Twilight when she tried to challenge her."

"Not to correct you, princess," Pinkie pointed out "But I think Princess Luna is still inside that dark exterior, trying to break free. Or was it just me who heard her voice?"

"No, it wasn't. I heard it, too." Apple Jack agreed.

"I know that Luna is still in there, deep inside. But how to draw her out?" Celestia asked.

"Maybe just make the kind side overtake the evil side. Maybe Fluttershy will have an idea of how to go about it. Any ideas, Shy?" She looked over to where Fluttershy had been. She was gone.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash looked around. "Where is that pony? She was right here!"

"We'll find her. She probably ran away when she saw Nightmare Moon."

"Still. It's strange that she left when one of her closest friends was down for the count."

"Speaking of which," Spike said "Help me get Twilight inside. I'll take care of her while you guys look for Fluttershy." And so they did.


	4. Chapter 4

Meanwhile, Fluttershy HAD run, but not because of Nightmare Moon. She had heard the sound of Nightmare Moon hitting Twilight, but hadn't seen what happened. The noise made her nervous, and she flew back to her home. She realized afterwards how cowardly that had been, and regretted it. Her friends worked as a team, and she had just LEFT! When Nightmare Moon was probably at that very moment terrorizing everypony, where was she? Hiding. Always hiding.

It was times like this where Fluttershy hated herself. She was tired of being scared, and always hiding. She could doso much, if she would only stay where she was needed!

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She yelled, kicking the ground.

"Are your friends calling you out on your fear again?" A voice asked.

"N-n-no. W-w-who's there?"

"An old friend." Nightmare Moon came out from the Everfree Forest.

"Nightmare Moon!"

"Yes. Tell me, Fluttershy... There are animals that are only about at night, correct?"

"Right..."

"And what do ponies think of them? They're scared of them, no? They think they're bad."

"I-I-I g-g-guess so."

"What do YOU think of them?"

"Oh, they're some of the sweetest things. They're really harmless. Like bats. They only fly at ponies because they're scared, since we wake them up when we walk into their caves."

"But no one appreciates them, do they?"

"No..." she said sadly.

"Shouldn't night animals get their chance, too?"

"Well..."

"Shouldn't they?"

"Yes. Yes, you're right!" Nightmare Moon smiled as Fluttershy's yellow coat turned dark blue, and her mane turned even darker.

"Then let's give them that chance."


	5. Chapter 5

Back at the library, Celestia and Spike had put Twilight in her bed, and were tending to her, trying to wake her up. Nothing would work. She was locked in a fitful slumber, often convulsing in reaction to what must be nightmares, no doubt caused by Nightmare Moon's spell.

"I hate to see her like this," Spike said sadly. "I feel so helpless. Isn't there anything else we can try?"

"Sadly, no," Celestia replied. "Without knowing the exact spell that was cast on her, I can't counter it or try to break it for fear of making it all the worse for her."

"It's hard to imagine this getting any worse." At that moment, Apple Jack, who had paired up to search for Fluttershy, walked in.

"Any change?"AJ asked."

"None," Celestia answered. "We've tried every natural way to wake her up, or at least calm her down, that I can think of. Any sign of Fluttershy?"

"Well," Rainbow answered. "Yes and no. I flew ahead of AJ to get an aerial view of Ponyville, in case I could spot Fluttershy that way. I did see her, but when I tried to catch up with her..."

"Yes?"

"She outflew me. FLUTTERSHY outflew me! She was headed here towards town, so we headed back here, but we haven't seen her since."

"FLUTTERSHY?" Spike exclaimed. "But that's impossible! Isn't it?"

"Well," AJ commented "Fluttershy HAS been known to fly faster when scared."

"What's she so scared about?" Rainbow asked.

"Who knows, with that pony."

"We can focus on her later, then," Celestia said. "In this circumstance, it might be better if we let her calm down on her own. I wish we could say the same for poor Twilight here."

"Ya know, if it were me in a state like this, even if I were away from home, I know Big Mac would still want to know about it."

"Point taken. Spike, take a note to-" Celestia was interrupted by the appearance of a scroll. She opened it, and it read:

"Princess Celestia,

I couldn't get through to Luna, so I thought I would try you. Is something going on between you two? Why hasn't the sun come up? The crystal ponies are freaking out because of the remaining night, and the crystal heart is beginning to fail. You know what that means...not good for ANYPONY. Please do something soon!

-Shining Armor"

"I hadn't even thought of the Crystal Empire! This could endanger Equestria even further. We need to get through to Luna. We need Twilight and Fluttershy! Spike, reply to Shining Armor."

"Okay." He began writing as Celestia dictated. Once he was done, he asked, "Would you like me to read it to proof it?"

"Yes."

"Shining Armor,

We have problems of our own, here in Ponyville. Princess Luna has transformed into Nightmare Moon again, and she is even more fierce than before. She has even harmed your sister, who now is trapped in a restless sleep of nightmares. We are doing what we can to gain control of the situation. In the meantime, do whatever possible to keep up the crystal ponies' spirits. This is vital to Equestria's survival

-Princess Celestia"

"That's fine. Send it." Spike did as she asked.

"Now what?"

"Things seem to have settled down for the moment. I think the best course of action here is to continue to comfort Twilight, and wait to hear from Pinkie Pie and Rarity on whether or not they've found Fluttershy."

"Alright."

Several minutes passed, then Pinkie Pie burst through the door. "Everypony," she panted, out of breath from running. "You're going to want to see this."

The group went outside, except for Spike. They were nearly knocked over by terrified ponies, running from... animals? Bats, owls, wolves, and other nocturnal animals were running amok.

"Citizens of Ponyville," a familiar voice came from the town center. "Say hello to my little nighttime friends." The pony, perched on top of city hall, laughed.

"FLUTTERSHY!"


	6. Chapter 6

"I'll round up the nocturnal critters," AJ offered. "Somepony else can try to talk some sense into that pegasus!" She ran off. Rarity approached Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy," She said. "Darling?"

"That's SHUDDER FLIGHT to you," she snarled in reply. "Miss RARITY."

"Fluttershy, stop this! These animals are terrifing everypony!"

"Not my fault that they're responding instinctively to you ponies. Actually, from their perspective, YOU'RE frightening THEM."

"Fluttershy..."

"SHUDDER FLIGHT! Why do you want the animals gone, anyway? The bats messing up your HAIR, miss priss?"

"On the contrary: bats are fine. In their time, that is. Wait... did you just call me priss? PRISS?! My Fluttershy would never call names."

"Well, I'm NOT your Fluttershy."

"I can see that. You're just a monster inside her body. I was just hoping that she'd come back."

"Oh, boohoo. At least I'm not weak and afraid like her."

"There's a difference between strength and just being a bully. I would hope that you of all ponies could see that. I suppose I can't force you to change. Goodbye, Shudder Flight." She walked off.

A burst of magic appeared at that moment, dissipating to reveal Shining Armor.

"Rarity!" He greeted. "I came as fast as I could after I heard about Twilight. Where is she? How's she doing?"

"Not too well. She's in bed. I'll take you to her."

As the two walked, Shining looked around. "Things really ARE worse here than in the Crystal Empire. Nightmare Moon unleashed all these animals?"

"No," Rarity scoffed. "Fluttershy did."

"Come again?"

"Even Fluttershy has gone to the dark side. She's the one who did this."

"That's hard to believe. She seemed so gentle when you guys visited the Empire."

"She's changed. I don't know why or how, but she has. The nerve of her, to call me a priss!"

"Ok, now I definately don't believe THAT. Something changed her outside of her own will. I'll give you three guesses as to who."

"*gasp* Nightmare Moon! She put something over on poor Fluttershy. And here I thought nothing besides my own hurt feelings. I have to go back. The library is just ahead. I'll catch up with you all later" she turned back towards the town. Shining Armor found the library without much trouble.

"Hello? Anypony here?" He called.

"Upstairs." A voice he recognized as Spike's replied. Shining went upstairs and found the young dragon by the bedside of his mistress, along with Celestia.

"Shining Armor," She said, surprised. "I didn't expect that you'd come."

"She's my little sister; of course I'd come." He kneeled by the bed.

"But what about the Crystal Empire?"

"Cadence is still there, trying to boost morale."

"Good. Right now, morale is what we need."

"What exactly happened to Twilight?"

"Since Nightmare Moon wouldn't, Twilight tried to lower the moon herself. Nightmare Moon appeared then, casting a spell on her that knocked her out and fried her horn. We haven't been able to wake her up, and we know she must be having terrible nightmares."

"I think I can help with that." Shining Armor began to gently stroke Twilight on the back, and sing,

"Have no fear  
Your big brother is here  
Nothing will hurt you as long as I'm near

Hush now, little Twilight  
Close those sleepy eyes  
When you wake, you'll get a surprise  
For as you sleep, the sun will rise"

Twilight sighed, and contentedly smiled, curling up in the covers. The others looked in pleased surprise.

"How'd you do that?" Spike asked.

Shining laughed. "Believe it or not, when Twiley here was a philly, she was a very troublesome sleeper. That song was the only thing that would calm her down at night. Sometimes, all somepony needs is to know that someone they trust is close by to feel safe to fall asleep peacefully. While she might not wake up for a while yet, at least she won't have any more nightmares."

"Well, that's progress, at least."

"I can watch over Twilight, if you guys need to deal with the animal situation."

"Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

"Positive."

"Alright then." She began to walk out.

"If it's all the same to you, Shining," Spike said. "I'd still like to stay."

"Alright."


End file.
